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Daigle tops list of Dove nominees

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Lauren Daigle, named New Artist of the Year at last year's Dove Awards, tops the list of this year's artist nominees with six nominations. Worship artists Hillsong UNITED and Chris Tomlin each received five.

Lauren Daigle

Lauren Daigle

The Dove Awards are sponsored by the Gospel Music Association to honor the best in all genres of Christian music, and winners are determined by the votes of GMA members. This year's awards show will be Oct. 11 at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena in Nashville.

Songwriter Jason Ingram garnered the most nominations with seven, including Song of the Year for the song "First," a song he co-wrote with Daigle and others for Daigle's breakout album "How Can It Be." The title track for that album was last year's Song of the Year Dove winner, and the album itself, co-produced by Ingram, is up this year for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year. Artists Anthony Brown, Bill Gaither, Danny Gokey, Jonathan McReynolds, Kirk Franklin, Matthew West and Tasha Cobbs received four nominations apiece.

In addition to a nod for Album of the Year and two for Song of the Year (one each for songs "First" and "Trust in You"), Daigle also is nominated for Songwriter of the Year, Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year and Artist of the Year, a category she shares with For King & Country, Hillsong UNITED, TobyMac and Lecrae, who won the honor last year.

Other songs nominated for song of the year include, "Brother," "Flawless," "Good, Good Father," "Just Be Held," "No Longer Slaves," "The River," "Touch the Sky" and "Worth."

Tomlin is nominated for Songwriter of the Year as well as Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Good, Good Father") and others. Hillsong UNITED is up for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year and others.

"Our theme this year is 'Love. Amplified,'" said GMA executive director Jackie Patillo in a press release. "[It's] a phrase we believe encompasses the collective power & impact of our music. At a time when so much of the world is divided and hostility is in the air, we will turn up the volume of love and the hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ."

TBN television network will once again broadcast the awards. "The Dove Awards set the standard for excellence in the field of Gospel and Christian music," said TBN chairman Matt Crouch. "And as always, TBN is excited to share with our global audience this incredible evening honoring those who create the music that brings hope and changes lives."

New Artist of the Year nominees are Hollyn, Jordan Feliz, Stars go Dim, Travis Greene and We Are Messengers.

To see a complete list of nominees, go to doveawards.com/2016-nominees.

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